Walking Red
by Penmenships
Summary: First Mentalist fan fiction. Rated T for future chapters.
1. Say Hello

Chapter One;

It was like any other day. Teresa Lisbon sat formally at her desk in the California Bureau of Investigation's office building. She sighed low and thrummed her thin fingers against the wooden table.

Patrick Jane bent forward slightly, careful not to bend his knees and looked down at the ground.

"Jane. What are you doing?" Lisbon questioned while looking over at him, breathing out quietly and rolling her eyes.

He didn't look over at her. Instead, he turned his head in the other direction from where she was sitting and slipped his hands behind his back, entwining his fingers.

"Seriously. Come on…" She pulled her eyebrows together and stepped over to him.

Finally, he pulled his glance over to her with a smile stretched across his face. He lifted up one of his arms, outstretched it over to the table where Rigsby sat working on a file, and pointed underneath it.

Rigsby looked up from his work and eyed Jane vigilantly.

He looked to where he pointed and smiled wider. "Look."

"Yes, that _is _Rigsby," Lisbon crossed her arms.

"No. Underneath him," Jane slowly lowered to his hands and knees.

She pulled her eyebrows together and unsuccessfully saw what was underneath him.

Rigsby tried to look as well, but just like Lisbon, he saw nothing.

Jane slowly crept up to the table and then crawled underneath it. He rummaged for a second before sliding back out on his knees. Leaning back, he sat back on his heels and smiled, looking up at Lisbon. "It's a mouse."

"A mouse?" Rigsby jumped out of seat and skidded back, horror suddenly splotched across his face.

Lisbon blinked; uncrossing her arms and instead, put her hands on her hips.

Jane chuckled and looked back to the table. "It's been here for awhile –" Lisbon interrupted him.

"And you haven't said anything?" She looked irritated.

He cocked his head to the side. "It's dead."

She opened her mouth to shoot a comment at him, but then stopped herself. "Oh."

Jane looked over to Rigsby with a dim smile on his face, "You're fine."

"Yeah…I just…hate mice," he quaked in reply.

Leisurely standing up, Jane cleared his throat and slid his hands into his pockets.

"Thank you," Lisbon gave him a deride smile and flip her phone out of her jacket's bottom pocket.

Jane ambled over to the small couch against the wall and sat down on the cushioning, putting his hands in his lap.

Rigsby shuddered again. "Mice are evil."

"Ah, but they mean no harm," Jane pointed out.

"Doesn't change the fact that they're still evil."

He chuckled and rocked his legs up onto the couch and lay back, slipping his hands behind his head. He slithered a few of his fingers into his scruffy, blond hair.

Lisbon had already dialed a number, spoke on the phone and when she hung up, she announced, "Rigsby, get the mouse out of here."

Rigsby's eyes broadened. "Why me?"

She sneered, jokingly. "It's under _your _desk."

He muttered something incomprehensible under his breath.

Jane turned his head to look over at the two of them. He observed Rigsby and watched as he got a plastic bag and bent down under his desk to get the mouse. Amused, he closed an eye and couldn't help but grin from his horrid expression.

Lisbon shook her head making her thick, brown hair bounce lightly. She stepped back over to her own desk and situated her elbows on top of it, shoving her head into her hands.

Jane looked above the couch over to her, still with only one eye open. He took his hands out of his hair and enfolded them around his torso.

She moved until her cheek was cupped in her hand and she could see him clearly. Raising an eyebrow, she blinked.


	2. The Dead

Chapter Two;

"What? Lisbon expression changed to inquisitiveness, irritation, and confusion.

"Have you eaten guacamole lately?" Jane sat up and took his hands, thrumming the tips of his fingers together.

She squinted her eyes. "Guacamole? Wha– no."

He gently nodded. "How about oranges? Berries?"

"Yes, maybe," she groaned and looked up at the ceiling and then back to him while slamming her hands softly against the top of the wooden desk. "Where are these questions coming from?"

"You're stressed," he said simply.

"No, I'm not."

"You keep rubbing your forehead, you constantly have your arms crossed, your sarcasm has been on an exceedingly high level, and your muscles have been tensing up. Just to mention a few."

She tried to argue with him, but it seemed that in every conversation they had, he'd always be right and win. Mr. Right, he was. So she gave up with a sigh. "It's just been a long week," she muttered.

Jane seemed to be expressionless, but he hopped off the couch and slid over to her, gently placing his hand on the crest of her back.

Lisbon eyes flickered back at him. He was right. She was tense, but when she felt his hand touch her back, they slowly relaxed.

"Try cleaning up a little either here or a home. It helps," he said softly, and then took his fingers from her back and sauntered off.

Clean? She looked down at her desk and noticed the clutter that was spread across the small space. Maybe cleaning would help a little. She placed her hand down on a pile of papers that had fallen over. Scooping them up, she efficiently put the heap up straight and smiled obscurely, but it gave off a pleasant look.

"Boss," Rigsby looked over his chair, clearly done taking care of that mouse.

Lisbon looked up and folded her hands together. "What?"

"We have a call. Three bodies were found dead," he said in monotone.

She didn't hesitate. Standing up, her smiled faded and she looked utterly solemn. "Where?"

He stated the address and then hung up the phone that was still in his hands from when he answered it.

She walked promptly through the building, and then out of it to approach her car where Jane was already waiting with his back leaned against the front hood. Pulling keys from her pocket, she unlocked the car.

Jane smiled and found the handle to the car and pulled it to make the back door open. He habitually never sat in the front. He watched as Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt treaded to the car as well. Rigsby got in passenger seat while Van Pelt and Cho got in the back with Jane.

As soon as everyone had gotten into the car, Lisbon started it up hastily as she could and drove to their destination.

-----

"I don't know what happened. I went to deliver flyers to the whole neighborhood, but their door was open and I peaked in to see if everything was all right and that's how I found them," a man, Cory Strom, said, stiffly.

Lisbon nodded slowly. "Flyers for what?"

"We're having a neighborhood party," he smiled forlornly.

Jane looked down at the bodies that lay across the ground in front of him. Each one of them had a bullet to the forehead and cuts were slit up their arms. Two female and one male. He tilted his head to the side to get a closer look at one of the female bodies.

"When was the last time you saw the Hamptons?" Lisbon stated clearly and stared the man in the eyes.

Cory paused before speaking to think. "About two days ago."

Cho stood at Lisbon's side with his arms crossed and no expression on his face.

"What were you doing when you saw them?" Lisbon continued.

"Oh nothing really. I was just walking by when they were outside and said 'hi'," Cory rubbed his thumbs together.

Jane squatted down and looked closely at the corpses, especially the skinny, brown-haired one. He perceived a bruise on the inner flesh of her neck. Leaning over, he saw more bruises on the other side of her neck. "She was strangled."


	3. Look Over

Chapter 3;

Rigsby, who was previously standing behind Jane, stepped up next to him and stared down at the purple skin on the girl's neck.

"By the looks of the bruising…" he let his sentence drop to look ever closer to the bruises, "…a strong male. Left handed," Jane stood back up to put one leg over on the other side of the body, then bent back down on his knees with his hands placed on the ground next to her head.

Rigsby looked disgusted, but he didn't impede him from whatever he was doing.

After staring down at her for a few moments, Jane's eyes scanned her hair and then down to her shirt. Pleased, he stood up and looked over at Rigsby. "Her hair was washed recently and she's dressed formally. She was planning on going somewhere or some important occasion was happening," he said, slipping his hands behind his back.

"For the party?" Rigsby questioned tilting his head over to Cory.

Jane shook his head and then pointed over to a near-by table. Puzzle pieces were spread across it.

"A puzzle," Van Pelt said who had suddenly joined their little tête-à-tête.

"Yes, but all of the pieces are facing right side up _and _no two of them are together. They're all separated neatly and the box showing the complete picture is facing where people could see it," Jane tucked his fingers into his palm, "I'd say that they were getting ready for their _own_ party _here_. A family reunion."

"How do you know?" Van Pelt crossed her arms.

"There are pictures everywhere. Most of them aren't of these three. Obviously relatives."

"They could be of friends," she added.

"This many of friends?" Jane smiled grimly. "I highly doubt it."

She gave up, smiling crookedly.

Rigsby nodded approvingly.

Jane looked over his shoulder to look back at Lisbon and Cho finishing up questioning Cory.

"Thank you for your time," Cho said. "We'll contact you if we need anything else from you."

Cory smiled sadly, nodding softly towards them while staring at his feet.

Jane couldn't help but smile.

The assembly of agents left the building along with Cory trailing behind them. They all stepped over the car and Cory walked the opposite direction.

"Oh!" Jane swung around.

Cory looked back.

"Don't leave the city," he grinned and stared him in the eye.

His eyes flickered.

Jane grinned wider, then pulled his glance away to step into the car.


End file.
